


Cats and Cuddles

by everybodygotawaterbuffalo



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Cats, Domestic Fluff, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, Lots of Cats, M/M, Mentioned Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Mentioned Lee Jihoon | Woozi, if you came for plot this isn't for you, it's just gays and cats, that's all it is, the torte (tm)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-16 01:32:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18511201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everybodygotawaterbuffalo/pseuds/everybodygotawaterbuffalo
Summary: “I may have accidentally sort of adopted five cats.”





	Cats and Cuddles

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all and happy Thursday! I hope you all enjoy this little puddle of domestic gayness  
> (also yes, Lilly, the torte is exactly the one you think it is. that's how long ago I wrote this)

Wonwoo likes cats. That’s a generally accepted fact by everyone who meets him, especially those who have cats. In fact, pretty much the only thing Wonwoo likes more than cats is Minghao. They’ve been dating since sophomore year in college and don’t show any signs of stopping. Even now, four years after graduation, they’re living together and, according to all of their friends, are just as adorable as they always have been. 

Six months ago, the two of them finally moved from their tiny apartment into a bigger one that’s closer to Wonwoo’s job. This apartment also has the bonus of allowing pets, but the two of them haven’t gotten around to anything more than discussions of getting a cat. Minghao knows Wonwoo has wanted a cat basically since he knew that they existed, and now that they can hypothetically have as many pets as they can take care of, it’s just a matter of time. 

They finally finished unpacking everything a month ago. Between Wonwoo’s full-time job and Minghao’s fairly frequent travels, they haven’t had a lot of time to themselves. Right now, though, they’ve both got some more down time. The project Wonwoo’s been working on for the past three months just finished up so he’s got a quiet period for a while and Minghao’s pretty much in charge of his own schedule, so if he ever wants a less strenuous workload he can do that. Also, his next scheduled project is a collaboration with Mingyu, who’s low-maintenance and always willing to work in less formal spaces than some clients. 

This all combined means when Minghao comes home from a short trip to find Wonwoo quieter than usual and the apartment cleaner than he left it, he’s immediately suspicious. He waits until they’re making dinner to ask about it, figuring Wonwoo will have had plenty of time to formulate a response. 

“Wonwoo, honey, why is the house so clean?” 

“Am I not allowed to clean up to surprise my boyfriend?” Minghao gives him a look.

“You’re perfectly allowed to, but you hate vacuuming. What are you up to?” Wonwoo grins sheepishly. 

“I may have accidentally sort of adopted five cats?” Minghao gasps. 

“What the fuck? When can I meet them? What are they like? Where are they from? Are they named? Wonwoo, when can I meet them?” Wonwoo laughs and wraps Minghao in a warm hug. 

“I didn’t think you’d have many objections. Let’s talk about it once dinner’s ready, yeah?” 

 

“They’re from the shelter Jihoon and Soonyoung recommended. It’s the one they got Yangmal from,” Wonwoo starts. Minghao gets himself settled comfortably and digs into his pasta, listening carefully. “They’re all siblings and they’re named Eunha, Byeol, Seongun, Byeoljali, and Hae.” Minghao coos at the names. 

“Who named them? That’s so cute!” 

“One of the employees did. She told me she wants to be an astronomer. Anyway, I’ve met them a couple times before, but --” Minghao interrupts again.

“What do you mean you’ve met them? You didn’t wait for me?” He sounds actually betrayed, but then he grins cheekily at Wonwoo so he knows it’s alright. 

“I wanted to make sure you’d like them.” Minghao knows his grin has softened into something softer, but he doesn’t mind. 

The rest of dinner is filled with Wonwoo gushing more about the cats, then Minghao talking about his trip. Over dessert, a pecan fudge torte Wonwoo made to celebrate Minghao coming home, they talk about work schedules and how that’ll function if they end up getting the cats. 

“Well, you know Project Hermes just finished, so I’ll be able to leave earlier most evenings and I’ll have more opportunities to work from home for the next couple months before they stick me on another major project.” Despite his young age, Wonwoo is a well-respected engineer in his company, and the fact that he hasn’t taken advantage of it much yet doesn’t mean he can’t. 

“And you know the next thing on my plate is the next cycle with Mingyu. He’d be ecstatic to work here with cats running around. He’d probably bring Jun and Chan along too, knowing him.” They both laugh. Mingyu’s husband and son love animals of all kinds as much as he does, and it’s adorable. 

“We’ll make it work,” reassures Wonwoo. 

 

Wonwoo takes Minghao to meet the cats the next day, as soon as he’s all unpacked and relaxed. On the way, they discuss the financial implications of adopting five cats. Minghao isn’t surprised to find that Wonwoo has put together a spreadsheet of the expected costs, with allowance for unexpected costs well within a reasonable margin of error. He’s accounted for the immediate costs to get the supplies they need, as well as proper vet care and vaccinations and everything. Minghao thinks it might be weird that he finds this hot. 

Minghao grabs Wonwoo’s hand for comfort as they enter the shelter. He can tell Wonwoo’s surprised. Wonwoo’s usually the one to reach to Minghao for comfort, and Minghao generally waits until they get home before he breaks his facade. It’s an unfortunate remnant of his not-so-great time in high school, but he’s been working to ask for help when he needs it now. He can tell Wonwoo’s proud of his progress. 

Minghao lets Wonwoo handle chatting with the nice girl at the front desk -- probably a college student -- as he looks around the room. It’s warm and homey, and between the wood paneling on the walls and the almost rustic furniture, it seems like the inside of a cabin. Well, Minghao’s never been to someone’s cabin, but this is what he assumes it’d look like. 

The front desk girl, who Minghao now sees is wearing a nametag that says Yerim, leads the two men through a door opposite the entrance into the animal play area. She leads them to the middle. 

“Wait here please. I’ll be back in a moment with the cats.” She disappears through yet another door, this time off to the left. Wonwoo plops right down and sits cross-legged then tugs on Minghao’s hand until he joins him. 

“Are you ready? I know they’re going to love you.” Wonwoo’s voice is warm and reassuring. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Minghao responds, smiling brightly. They sit there quietly, holding hands until Yerim returns with very noisy box. The moment she sets it down, four cats jump out. She gently lifts the fifth, who seems much more timid than the others, out and sets them on the ground. She introduces them to each of the cats, pointing out the different collar colors which Wonwoo mentions are the only way he can tell a couple of them apart. They’re all black, but Eunha has two white socks and Byeoljali has a white ear. Seongun, the shyest, seems slightly smaller than her siblings, but Minghao can see how without the collar differences, he probably wouldn’t be able to tell them apart either. 

A woman sticks her head through the door to the main entrance, calling Yerim over. They have a quick conversation about something to do with vaccines and a trip to the vet, but Minghao’s a bit distracted by the five cats and isn’t paying much attention to what they’re saying. 

Although Seongun seemed really shy, she apparently likes Wonwoo a lot, and has curled up in his lap to receive pets. Byeol and Byeoljali are play-wrestling, and Eunha and Hae seem to be investigating the new addition to their environment: Minghao. He gives them affection as much as he can, but they seem to be mostly interested in sniffing and rubbing against him for the time being. 

Yerim leaves them to play with the cats for about half an hour, during which Seongun migrates to Minghao’s lap and he feels incredibly honored, then pops in to let them know there’s another customer who’d like to meet some animals, so she’ll be putting the cats away in about ten minutes. She also lets them know they’re welcome to stay and discuss any questions. 

“I’ve already asked her all the questions you have on your adopt-a-cat list, and I can show you the answers when we get home,” Wonwoo says, and Minghao smiles gratefully. 

“Thanks, love. We can head home as soon as she puts the cats away. I just want to say good-bye to them first.”

On the way home, they finish up their financial discussion. For a couple in their mid-20s, they’re making plenty to support themselves and some animals. Wonwoo, working as a systems engineer at a medical device company, is making close to 6 figures (in American money), so he’s definitely the breadwinner of the family. Minghao’s doing great business as well, and though his salary isn’t as steady or nearly as high, he knows it’s by no means insignificant. This means that even on top of the regular donations to a variety of charities and the mild sugar daddy-ing of their friends, they’ve got plenty to go around. By the time they get home, the decision to adopt all five has been officially made. All that’s left is for them to get some shopping done before they can bring the cats home. 

 

The next morning, Minghao’s woken to the sound of Wonwoo getting into the shower. He rolls over, tucking himself into the still-warm spot Wonwoo had occupied until a couple minutes ago. He proceeds to doze back off until Wonwoo wakes him again by pressing soft kisses all over his face. 

Minghao squirms and giggles, but opens his eyes obligingly. 

“Morning, sunshine. You up for shopping?” This abruptly reminds Minghao that if they get their shopping done, they might have five cats by the end of the day. Wow, that’s way more effective than caffeine. 

Wonwoo has, as expected, put together a list of everything the shelter recommends along with a reasonable price range for each item. Minghao looks over it while Wonwoo makes breakfast, occasionally questioning certain items or adjusting a price range. They’ve both done quite a bit of research on this, so they know better than most what they’re getting themselves into. Of course, neither of them were really planning on five cats, but after meeting them they know they can care for them. 

Shopping goes pretty quickly. With all the research they’ve done, they know pretty much exactly what they’re looking for. The hardest part of the whole trip is playing tetris to get everything into the car. Thankfully, unloading everything goes smoothly. Wonwoo gets half the stuff set up while Minghao makes lunch. Once that’s done and cleaned up, Minghao starts getting impatient. 

“Can we go pick them up? We don’t have to have  _ everything _ set up when they get here. Please? I want to bring them home.” He makes puppy dog eyes at Wonwoo, knowing he can’t say no. 

“Fine,” he says, laughing a little. “Go get in the car.” Minghao makes a noise that’s embarrassingly close to a squeak and rushes to the car. 

At the shelter, it’s a blur of paperwork and informational pamphlets, but finally Minghao’s settled in the backseat with two giant cat carriers. The cats are just as noisy during the drive home as they were when Yerim carried them around in the bucket. Minghao strokes their paws through the door and smiles as they meow and bat at his fingers. 

“You know,” he murmurs to them, “I think you’re going to do just fine with us.” 

As expected, four of the five cats dart out and start checking out their surroundings as soon as Minghao opens the carrier doors in their living room. Seongun exits a little slower and sticks pretty close to Wonwoo and Minghao during her explorations, frequently dashing back to wind around their ankles whenever she encounters a new noise or smell. 

“I think they’re enjoying themselves,” Wonwoo says. “Well, I’m going to go finish setting up the new stuff. Could you feed them? Their food bowls are already in the kitchen.” 

 

“You know, I knew the cats were going to be ours the moment you sat down with them,” Wonwoo tells Minghao later, after they’ve gotten ready for bed. They’re curled up under the covers, half-watching a Studio Ghibli movie. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” Wonwoo grins sheepishly. “You just looked so soft and they were crawling all over you and my heart got all squishy in my chest and --”

“You sap,” interrupts Minghao, but he’s curling into Wonwoo’s chest, hiding his blushing face. “I love you.”

“I love you too, darling.”

If they’re woken the next morning by cats crawling on their faces, it’s absolutely worth it. 


End file.
